Category Archives: Comics

Starfire Redesigned

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Girls Gone Geek has the distinct pleasure of being guest judges over at Super Hero of the Month for the Starfire redesign contest. E. and I both agree that few characters could use a fashion makeover as much as Starfire. She has been rendered many ways over the years, but almost always wearing very little. Her most recent incarnation in Red Hood and the Outlaws might be the most ridiculous version to date.

E. sums it up perfectly …

My problem with the costume is that it’s garish – like a futuristic stripper ensemble. She’s a powerful character trapped in a teenage boy’s idea of a sexy outfit, and it’s damn near impossible to take her seriously.

So, in the spirit of creating a heroic image – Come one, come all! Submit your redesigns for the lovely Koriand’r from Tamaran. Erika and I look forward to your submissions!

Submissions are due by Wednesday, February 22nd. Click here for further details.

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Stream of Comicsness – Week of 02.01.2012

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This week’s haul …
Action Comics #6, Sweet Tooth #30, Uncanny X-Force #21

So Sweet
If you get your comics from your LCS every week, you know it isn’t cheap. Prices ranging from $2.99 and sometimes up to $4.99, multiplied by four or five books a week. Well, you do the math. Some books are more than worth it, others are not. The titles that are worth it hit hard and make you anticipate the hell out of the next issue. Titles that do that for me are Batwoman, Chew, Uncanny X-Force … and now Sweet Tooth.

Rewind a couple of months.

One of my besties lent me the first trade of Sweet Tooth, a title that was on the long list of things I want to read. I devoured it. Next trade, please. I also read that voraciously. On to the third, Sweet Tooth: Animal Armies. It is probably one of the most intense stories I have ever come across in a comic. It ranks up there with moments in Y: The Last Man and something else really awesome that I can’t think of right now. But then I had to wait for the fourth trade. That was more than I could handle.

I decided that once the fourth trade hits, I’m getting the single issues. That little doe-eyed, antler-having, coming-of-age in a post-apocalypse kid stole my damn heart. Also, from a sociological standpoint, the story speaks volumes. Sweet Tooth falls firmly into the “worth it” category. Of the many comics currently on the shelves, I’d bet that Sweet Tooth is one of the best. So, if you are looking for something else to read, check it out. Digital issues are only $1.99.

Issue #30 came out this week, and it was stellar. I reviewed it for Newsarama … check it.

Awesome in Otherworld
For the spandex portion of the show, Uncanny X-Force #21 did a fine job, once again. Rick Remender is on a roll with that book. I reviewed that, too.

Exhausted From All the Action
Morrison’s Superman story has gone from interesting to convoluted. I literally got tired trying to read Action Comics #6. I am not going to sit here and hash out the overuse of time travel or pretend like this isn’t what Morrison does. It is. I’m just not sure if it is working for me. Erika is much more eloquent about these things than I am. Check her review.

Xombilicious
One of the most tragic casualties of the DC relaunch was the cancellation of Xombi. John Rozum and Frazer Irving made a deliciously odd and beautiful book. I love, love, LOVE Irving’s art and colors. There is nothing else like it. Rozum’s story isn’t perfect, but it has this bizarre abruptness that plays out quite well. It’s adventurous. Also, there are nuns with guns. If you missed it, the trade came out this week.

WTF? Wednesday: Snow’s Ugly Lecture

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Fables character Mrs. Spratt (as in wife of Jack) is easy to hate. She’s spiteful and seems to delight in saying awful things to vulnerable people, which sucks considering that she’s a nurse. Those deplorable characteristics were evident in issue #100 during the birth of Beauty and Sheriff Beast’s child. She coldly dismissed Beast’s concerns after Beauty went into a difficult labor, and she then pelted him with insults when he suggested that the Fabletown physician, Dr. Swineheart, was not on point. Since Beast goes into furry and fanged mode when he’s mad, old girl is very lucky that she wasn’t mauled. Continue reading →

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

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When is it time to break up with a comic book?

Sometimes, the decision is obvious: The comic’s quality plunges or goes in a direction you don’t like. Maybe the writer and/or artist changes and their work doesn’t move you.

But let’s say you’re reading a book that you’ve enjoyed for a long time, one that is still solidly good and has had its moments of genius. It’s still better than many comics you could be wasting your money on and you’ve made it this far. However, you’ve had the sneaking suspicion lately that something’s missing. Whereas you once couldn’t wait to fetch it from your LCS and dive right in, you’re now putting it aside and thinking, “I’ll get to it eventually.” Then when you do, your attention drifts. It’s not that the book is bad or even mediocre, but it just doesn’t excite you anymore. Continue reading →

Stream of Comicsness – Week of 01.18.2012

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Not So Wonderful
Holy crow. Who has been singing the praises of Wonder Woman louder than me? Since issue #1, I have been going on about Cliff Chiang’s beautiful art, and how Brian Azzarello “gets” Diana. Maybe I was just blinded by the light (art). I stand by what I said about Chiang being damn near perfect on this book, but this month’s issue was not drawn by Chiang. So, Azzarello had to do the heavy lifting with the story, and that just did not happen. There is plenty of Greek Mythology. There is another half-breed offspring of Zeus unexpectedly popping in on Diana, Poseidon shows up and Hera is still pissed off. Quelle suprise! Azzarello is a good writer, but this issue falls flat without Chiang’s magic. Tony Akins is the fill in artist, and either DC chose him because he kind of sort of draws like Chiang, or he tried to draw like Chiang. Either way, it was not working for me. It wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t impressed. Akins draws a pretty mean sea monster splash page, but his Diana is all wonky in the face. The proportions seemed off with the other characters as well. Cliff Chiang is a tough act to follow. Continue reading →

Friday Favorite: Starling

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There was tons of skepticism about DC’s new books, and Birds of Prey was no exception. How could you take a perfect formula, Gail’s Dinah, Babs, and Zinda, and just change it? Well, even loaded with all the skepticism this fangirl could muster, I like the new Birds of Prey. I like it because of Starling.

I knew Starling was a pistol as soon as she burst onto the scene. And by burst I mean drove an antique car through the wall of a church. She’s a girl after my own heart. Continue reading →

G3 Review: Action Comics #5

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Action Comics #5
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Andy Kubert, Jesse Delperdang, Brad Anderson, and Patrick Brosseau

It’s the “New 52,” and the new Action Comics, and inevitably we revisit fall of Krypton. But how many ways can Krypton be annihilated? In Grant Morrison’s take on Supes’ origin, he makes subtle tweaks to how it all went down in the House of El. With minor adjustments to previous continuity, Morrison paves the road for a plethora of possibilities for future stories. We press pause on the events of issue #4 and focus on baby Kal-El making it to a planet with a yellow sun and less gravity, so he will be super. Superman’s chunky, little baby self is escorted in a rocket powered by an artificial intelligence Jor-El calls Brainiac. It is Brainiac who narrates this issue, entitled, “Rocket Song.” Continue reading →

G3 Review: Life With Archie #16

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Life With Archie #16
Written by Paul Kupperberg
Art by Fernando Ruiz, Pat Kennedy, Tim Kennedy, Al Milgrom, Bob Smith, Jack Morelli and Glenn Whitmore

This just in: Life With Archie is friggin’ awesome. Yes, I know the series is no longer new, but no matter how many times I read it, I’m surprised by just how juicy it is. Seeing Riverdale’s former teens as grownups who are grappling with real-life drama is fascinating. LWA has become the comic book version of the TV soap you don’t want to miss. Continue reading →

G3 Interview: Brandon Thomas of ‘Miranda Mercury’

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There are so many things I love about Miranda Mercury. She’s a brilliant sci-fi adventurer who gives Hal Jordan and Matt Murdock a serious run for their money in the Without Fear department. With the help of her right-hand man, the perfectly named Jack Warning, she kicks evil’s ass across the galaxies with gusto — all in a day’s work for someone who comes from a family of science heroes. She’s also the kind of character that’s still rare in comics: an exceptional woman defined almost entirely by her bravery and smarts, and one who happens to be black. Continue reading →

Holiday Hiatus

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Before we take a little break, we want to thank all of you for making 2011 a great year for Girls Gone Geek. V. and I truly appreciate your readership and look forward to hanging out with you in the New Year. In the meantime, we wish you and yours a very happy holiday season!

2011 Memorable Moment: Olive Branch

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If you have not had the pleasure of reading Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly’s New York Four and New York Five, I would highly recommend them both. It is not quite a coming of age story, but more like a snapshot into the lives of four girls attending college in Manhattan. NYU is about the only thing they have in common. Each of the ladies; Ren, Riley, Lona and Merissa are complex, interesting characters completely consumed with the ups and downs of their respective lives. Aren’t we all?

In New York Five, we meet Olive. Continue reading →

2011 Memorable Moment: A Scandalous Threesome and the Venomous Six

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This memorable moment is a twofer, and probably the one nearest to my heart.

We all (should) know that Death of the New Gods was a terrible story that did nothing but muck up continuity and convolute the lead-in to Final Crisis (while also having terrible grammar throughout the series). The last thing Final Crisis needed to be was more confusing. Those annoyances aside, the most tragic part of DotNG were the deaths of some particularly awesome New Gods, specifically … Knockout. Continue reading →

2011 Memorable Moment: A Nightmarish ‘Vacation’

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I’ve seen a lot of crazy, disturbing stuff in comic books. However, I was not at all prepared for the nightmare scenario writer Nick Spencer and Christian Ward laid out in The Infinite Vacation #3. Don’t get me wrong; TIV is a highly innovative series about about a society in which people can purchase alternate lives at the push of a button. Spencer’s story is thought-provoking and Ward is an amazing artist who does things in panels I’ve never seen before. (Stop reading now if you have a delicate constitution.) Continue reading →